Travels in Southeastern Europe

The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.

MONASTIR TO TEPELEN. 28I step of my beast sent a thrill of pain running up and down one side of me from ankle to hip-joint. An hour brought us to the Viosa, with Tepelen majestic, high on its further bank, fortified by big stone walls, loop-holed and buttressed, built by Ali Pasha, and left unfinished at his death. I had plenty of leisure to contemplate it. The swirling, whirling river raged in a turbid torrent, foaming between the eight buttresses of the broken bridge; on the hill beyond was a crowd that bawled and yelled. One of my suvarris put his hands to his mouth and roared. A reply came bellowing back. The river had begun falling, and perhaps in three hours would be passable; at present the ferry couldn't come at any price. We unloaded the pack-mule and set the beasts grazing. Several natives joined us in the hopes that a special effort would be made to take me across, and that they might profit by it, and I heard the story of the bridge. It was smashed by a great flood in winter six years ago, and ever since the town had suffered bitterly. Most of its fields lie on the further side of the stream, and this is impassable for a large part of the winter. Then the land can neither be tilled nor sown. One of my suvarris owned a large piece, and had made a living out of it. Since the bridge fell he was unable to do so, and had been obliged to join the police. There followed the old dismal story of arrears of pay. All the company prayed me to help them.
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About this Item

Title
The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author
Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas
Page 281
Publication
London :: Nelson,
[1905]
Subject terms
Eastern question (Balkan)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

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https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001
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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bosnia/ans3900.0001.001/288

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"The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham." In the digital collection Travels in Southeastern Europe. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 30, 2025.
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